Do you have shin splints?

KNOW YOUR PROFILE

What should you know before seeing a medical professional?

QUESTIONS FOR YOURSELF

What should you ask yourself after your first appointment?

It is important to ensure you are comfortable with the physician and that you are satisfied by their approach.

SLEEP

Your body only heals while you sleep. We often discount sleep both in quantity and quality. It is 2021 after all and we are all “busy”. We are constantly distracted and stimulated. However, this is your health, and you owe it to yourself to sleep properly.

• 8 hours, minimum. Yes, minimum. If sleep wasn’t a priority before, it had better be now.
• High quality sleep. No sounds, no lights, no movement, no drugs, no alcohol, no sleep aids. You want to be able to enter REM sleep and not toss and turn all night or be prone to numerous wakeups.
• Keep your room cool. It varies per person. Find your ideal comfort level so you can rest under blankets comfortably without sweating.
• Dry, clean sheets. You do not want to be sweating all night, and you do not want to be sleeping in your own filth night after night.
• Routine. Create a replicable routine in the hours before you sleep to help put you to sleep faster. Send your body/mind the right signals to sleep each night.
• No blue light. No harsh blue light 3 hours before sleeping.
• No sugar. No high levels of sugar 4-5 hours before sleeping.
• No caffeine. No caffeine 6 hours before sleeping.

Take the extra time you have now that you aren't training intensely and put that directly into sleep.

Hydration

Depending on your body composition and your activity during the day, your hydration needs can vary wildly. Most people live in a constant state of semi-dehydration unfortunately. They don’t drink enough, and what they are drinking isn’t always good for hydration. The issue is, when you become dehydrated you shrink and dry out. Your body also has a difficult time getting the resources through your system, thus placing further strain on your body and reducing your ability to heal efficiently. You are already in a place of strain with your injury, don’t make it worse by allowing yourself to become dehydrated.

That said, some people will take this to an extreme and try to chug a gallon of water to re-hydrate. According to Scientific American, a healthy kidney can only process 800-1,000 ml of water per hour. If you drink at this level or higher, you run the risk of water toxicity.

The key to healthy hydration is small amounts consistently throughout the day and based on your individual need (ie, you sweat a lot, you are active, dry weather, etc.). A few things to keep in mind are the color of your urine (the darker it is the more dehydrated you likely are) and a feeling of thirst. If you feel thirsty, you are already slightly dehydrated. Thirst is your body's response to an immediate need of requiring water. Dry skin and lips and very tight muscles/soreness are also signs that you need to hydrate better.

Nutrition

Nutrition is also critical. You need to eat clean and varied foods. Again, depending on you, you may need to avoid some foods (allergies, etc.) or eat more of others (deficiencies, etc.). You should work with a registered sports dietitian to sort out your dietary requirements.

A few hard and fast rules for nutrition – stop eating processed foods. Stop eating junk food. Eat real food that comes from nature unprocessed.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a list of “super foods” that is going to heal your shin splints for you. Just eat right for you – don’t fill your body with poison and give yourself yet another thing your body needs to fix.

DISLAIMER – We are not registered sports dietitians. We cannot legally or in good ethics provide targeted dietary advice. You should work with your physician and a registered sports dietitian to determine what is best for you. This advice is general knowledge and is by no means a direct recommendation or prescription to you. Use at your own risk.

Supplementation

Supplementation is also extremely helpful. You can’t get everything your body needs simply from eating. If you could, supplementation wouldn’t really exist. If you did try to get everything your body needs through eating, you would be obese from all of the excess calories you would be injesting. You would also probably gorge yourself to death.

Again, it is important to work with a registered sports dietitian to figure out what is optimal for you. You may need Vitamin B12, but not iron for example. It depends on your dietary restrictions and your deficiencies. Some general supplements you can’t really go wrong with are:

1. Creatine
2. Whey Protein Isolate
3. Collagen Protein
4. Magnesium Bisglycinate
5. Multi-Vitamin designed for Sport

You should only buy supplements if they are evaluated by a third party for cleanliness and quality. Look for NSF or other consumer choice labels.

DISLAIMER – We are not registered sports dietitians. We cannot legally or in good ethics provide targeted dietary advice. You should work with your physician and a registered sports dietitian to determine what is best for you. This advice is general knowledge and is by no means a direct recommendation or prescription to you. Use at your own risk.

Blood Flow/Active Recovery

You’ve consumed the resources required, but your body still needs to get them to the right place. Blood flow is often overlooked in recovery. Sitting or lying down all day does not promote good health or blood flow. Yes, you need “rest and recovery” – but that doesn’t mean becoming a vegetable. Depending on what activity caused your shin splints in the first place, you can:

1. Go for a walk a few times a day
2. Go biking a few times a day
3. Go swimming a few times a day

These are NOT hard training. The reason it says “a few times a day” is to encourage continuous blood flow. Doing it once in the morning is great, but it is better if you do it throughout the day to promote healthy blood flow continuously rather than for a short period of time. You will only need to go for 5-15 minutes each time.

When we say blood flow, we simply mean get your blood flowing – you  should not be sore after doing these activities. You may be disappointed in the speed and distance you can cover, but if you keep pushing yourself and breaking down again, you will live weak forever.

You don’t have to do all of these. Pick one(s) you like and that don’t aggravate your symptoms. Take it easy. You are healing an injury right now.

Mobility & Flexibility

Improving mobility and flexibility in your ankles/shins is also critical to your overall healing process. This stretching and mobility protocol will aid in the recovery and strengthening of your injury.

The idea here is to get movement into the area, assist with blood flow again, but also stretch out and work the damaged tissue in the region so it doesn’t shorten on you while you are recovering. Healthy and strong athletes have great mobility and flexibility.